


Let's Hang Out

by Rainbow_Trout



Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Brothers, Firefighters, Gen, Hanging, Support, Whump, Whumptober 2020, dangling, scary experiences, structure fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:01:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26771824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow_Trout/pseuds/Rainbow_Trout
Summary: Day One of Whumptober - hanging.Sometimes even the simplest of rescues can turn dangerous.
Relationships: Matthew Casey & Kelly Severide
Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953733
Comments: 18
Kudos: 82
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	1. Hanging

**Author's Note:**

> Possible trigger warnings: high places, falling

When Truck, Squad and Ambo were called out, they saw no reason to be worried. Sure, it was a fully engaged structure fire, in an apartment building no less, but the building was still under construction. While that meant that they were yet to put in sufficient fire proofing, it _did_ mean that they had a lot less victims to rescue. So, rather than having to drag out a few hundred people, they only had to sweep the seventh floor for three missing builders.

That didn’t mean that they weren’t taking it seriously, of course. It was a fire scene. They _always_ took those seriously. But there certainly hadn’t been any sense of foreboding as they’d suited up. Gallo and Mouch had raised the ariel, and Squad, along with Casey and Kidd, had quickly made their way up to the top floor.

It hadn’t taken long for them to locate two of the missing three builders. The young men were clearly suffering from smoke inhalation, and would no doubt need a short stay at Chicago Med, but they were going to be fine. They were still able to walk on their own two feet, but as a precaution, Casey sent the whole of Squad down with them.

Leaving he and Kidd to locate the last victim.

Which had proved to be a bigger challenge than either of them had hoped. The builder had decided to seek shelter in one of the many storage cupboards they’d set up. It shouldn’t be something that Casey was condemning, he realised, because the action had likely saved the man’s life. But was it really too much to ask him to respond when they called out? Simple civilian mistakes like that really made their job almost impossible, not to mention dangerous.

He quickly shrugged it off, whipping his head around as he assessed the scene.

And his heart sunk.

The building was half finished, and when he’d made his assessment on the ground, he’d noticed that most of the windows had yet to be put in. That was a good thing. It meant that the building was, for the most part, well-ventilated. But they’d ended up in the _one room_ complete with windows. That did make sense, of course, the builders probably wanted their equipment to be safe.

But _of course_ things wouldn’t go well.

He cursed under his breath, glancing back to Kidd before looking around the room again. She already seemed to know exactly where his thoughts were going, because she was a damn good firefighter, and she was already gripping the man under his arms as they got ready to lift.

“Ready, Kidd? On three… one… two…”

But he never got the chance to finish his countdown. As he watched, the building smoke levels rapidly dropped, flattening and retreating from the room. It was hardly climatic, but Casey was a remarkable firefighter, and his years on the job meant those signs were as obvious to him as an explosion.

He dropped the victim’s feet, putting his head down and charging across the room. At this point, their only chance was shutting the door and praying that the fire didn’t get through.

Still, he found himself raising his voice, glancing back to Kidd as he ordered; “Kidd! Take cover!”

He knew exactly why he was saying it. He knew one hundred percent. If the room flashed over, he wouldn’t survive. That wasn’t a question. But Kidd might. If she took cover, she might have a chance.

Fortunately, _fortunately_ , that wasn’t needed, because before Kidd was even able to move, Casey had slammed the door shut, throwing the full weight of his body against it as it shuddered. They still only had minutes, if that, before the door wasn’t able to hold them back.

“Kidd. Vent the window. Now!”

He hated being so direct, so abrupt. But there really wasn’t much choice. Diffusing the gases would get them some more time. Hopefully, with any luck, enough time.

Stella nodded, gripping a halligan and moving straight to the window. Without prompting, she radioed the ground, directing them to move the arial. Casey was grateful for that, because he was starting to struggle to hold the door back.

Time always seemed to pass slowly in a fire, but Casey knew that it would only have been a matter of seconds before he heard the window shattering, Kidd removing the jaggared edges to prepare it for escape. The ariel arrived only seconds later, and even though Casey gave his order clear as day – _take the victim and get out_ – Kidd shook her head. She wasn’t going to leave her Captain, not without giving him a standing chance.

She was quick. She knew that she needed to be. If she took too long, Casey’s heroics could be for nothing, but she’d seen the outside of the building. There was nothing for Casey to grip to, and she knew that the ariel would take too long. She didn’t doubt that her Captain wouldn’t do everything he could to survive, but she knew that he needed help.

Just as quickly as Casey had acted earlier, Kidd determined the best place to anchor the rope. Anything that was heavier than Casey and could viably stand a fire for a minute was her best choice, because it would hopefully buy him the time he needed for the ariel to get him.

“Kidd, what are you doing?”

She didn’t reply, simply knotting the rope before racing back to Casey. As gently as she could, she secured the other end to the loops on Casey’s belt, giving it a firm tug to ensure its strength. In a flash, Casey realised what she’d done, and gave her a quick nod, one hand coming to her shoulder.

She gave him a nod back, hoping that her expression was enough to convey her gratitude. Then, she moved back to the victim, quickly lifting him and dragging him towards the arial. Capp was already waiting, and quickly assisted getting him secured.

And then, they were gone.

Casey knew, of course. He’d known that this was going to happen. And he knew that every single second would feel painfully long as he waited. Waited and hoped that they would get to him in time.

The door shuddered again, and a wave of fear swept through him. Venting the room might have bought him some time, but it wasn’t going to stop the room from flashing over. Not at this point.

And, as the door shuddered once again, he realised that it hadn’t given him enough time.

He couldn’t hold the door back any longer, and he only had one option left.

He had to bail out.

And despite all of his training, despite his bravery, part of Casey’s brain told him to wait, that bailing out at this point was a stupid idea. But, at this point, it was the only viable option.

He took a breath, pressing his whole weight against the door for another moment…

Before he ran.

He ignored every one of his instincts as he charged towards the door, aiming directly for the window. He ignored every instinct as he raised his knees, leaping over the last of the glass. And he ignored every instinct as he stepped into the air.

And then he fell.

He’d fallen before, once, with Severide into the Chicago River. But this was far worse. His stomach rose to his mouth as air whipped around him, and he could feel his arms and legs failing. A sudden, strong surge of fear swept though him, and for a moment, all Casey could think about was whether or not he’d stop.

And then, he did.

It was violent, and the jolt knocked all of the air out of him, gear painfully cutting into his ribs and hips. It hurt. A lot. The gear wasn’t exactly made for this purpose, and he’d be surprised if he didn’t have broken ribs.

He didn’t have time to focus on the pain, though, because the next thing he knew, he was hanging, staring at the concrete eighty feet down.

* * *

Severide had watched the entire ordeal with horror from below, heart in his throat as he’d watched Casey leap through the window. He’d been worried since Kidd had called the mayday, but nothing could have prepared him for seeing his best friend hanging from a single rope. He trusted Kidd, of course he did, but their gear had its limits and he didn’t know how long it would hold Casey up.

“Mouch! Hurry up! Raise the arial!”

The older man didn’t respond, still entirely focussed on moving the arial back up. The victim had caused Kidd and Capp some issues when coming down, and he was going as fast as he could.

“Mouch! Damn it, help Casey!”

This time, the older man did glance down, if only to give him a sympathetic glance. The arial only moved so fast, and even though he was doing his best, it was hard to angle it just right. And hell, he was nervous too.

Casey was still dangling, glancing around as he tried to identify something to grab hold of. At this point, he’d take anything, even a ledge, in the slim hopes that he’d be able to hold himself for a little longer.

But it was hopeless. It was one of those modern buildings, with floor to ceiling windows.

Casey cursed under his breath. There was nothing wrong with old fashioned buildings. They were far sturdier, anyway.

The blonde firefighter glanced down again, finally registering that the arial was nearby. Even if he fell at this point, he might _just_ be able to save himself.

But before he was able to heave a sigh of relief, he felt the rope shudder. Then – slightly, but enough to notice, especially in his hyper aware state – and he once again felt panic gripping his chest. He knew what this meant; the rope was fraying. And if it was fraying, he had no idea how long he had before he…

Suddenly, he felt hands gripping him, taking handfuls of his turnout coat and dragging him towards them. In his panic, he’d barely noticed Severide climbing towards him, tugging him firmly towards the arial.

Ordinarily, he’d be embarrassed by the sound that left his lips, but this wasn’t an ordinary situation. He held Severide tight as the Squad Lieutenant pulled him closer, before his feet were resting against the arial, Kelly covering his body with his own. The added pressure was enough to snap the rope, and Casey flinched as it fell from above.

There was a lull, before Severide lifted his head, though he was still unwilling to let go of his friend. His anxious blue eyes surveyed him, before he shook his head, “Fuck. Case. Fuck.”

Casey just blinked in response, glancing down once again, before turning back to his Squad counterpart. He still hadn’t entirely processed that he was safe, but as he felt Kelly’s weight against him, it registered.

“Kel. _Sev._ ”

He leant forwards, grateful when Severide embraced him. His entire body was still aching – well, maybe a little more than aching, his whole chest was on fire – but he needed his best friend’s grasp even more, and quickly rested his forehead against Kelly’s shoulder, “Kel… fuck. Uh, sorry.”

Kelly let out a chuckle, only his best friend would apologise for swearing after a near death experience, “S’okay, Matty. It’s all good… you’re safe now. S’okay.”

They remained in each other’s arms for a little longer, both too afraid to let go of one another. They both knew that they were being watched from the ground, but it really didn’t matter. Kelly needed to know that Casey was okay, and Casey needed to be grounded.

At least, that lasted until Casey’s breathing started becoming more pained, and the blonde was letting out little gasps. Almost reluctantly, Kelly pulled away, once again surveying his friend, “How are you doing, buddy?”

Casey bit his lip, doing his best to hide his pain, because he really preferred to stay with Severide, “I’m good. I’m –”

“In agony. We’ll get you checked out, Matt. Then home… deal?”

And even though part of Casey was tempted to stay on that arial with his best friend, he nodded, grateful when Severide stayed close to him his entire way down.


	2. On Stable Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's gonna take me a while to sort through everything I've written! But eager to finish up the second chapters of my various Whumptober fics :) Here's the follow up for Day 1 - Hanging. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Casey kept his jaw tight as he was wheeled into the ER, knowing that he wasn’t fooling anyone. He’d done his best to hide his pain as he and Severide had made their way down the ariel, but no one had missed how slowly he’d been moving. The slightest jerk caused pain to splinter through his ribs, and he’d had to stop and breathe numerous times. He had one hand cradling his chest, and by the end, he wasn’t even trying to keep the grimace off his face. But Kelly had been by his side the entire time, a supportive hand on his shoulder, watching to make sure he didn’t lose his balance. Casey appreciated it, especially when Kelly had helped him climb down the truck.

Once his feet solid ground, Casey did his best to put his mask back up, not wanting to seem weak in front of his men. Of course, none of them cared, but he was their Captain, and he never wanted them to feel as though they needed to look after him. He’d been doing it his whole life, after all, and he’d done aright so far.

But Kelly didn’t need to see a grimace to know how his friend was doing, and he was quick to nudge his shoulder – carefully, because he had no idea what internal injuries his brother had done, “Ambo, Matt. No one’s gonna think less of you… you were just dangling by your pants.”

Slowly, Casey nodded, still clutching his chest as he hobbled his way towards the gurney. Two paramedics from another firehouse were at the ready, one taking Severide’s place as she eased Casey down, “That was rather impressive, Captain.”

Casey did his best to smile, knowing exactly what the paramedic was trying to do, but the pain was starting to get to him, and he hissed as his butt hit the gurney.

“I do need access to a vein before I can give you any painkillers… so unfortunately I do need to remove your turnout coat. We can cut it if it’s too bad, though?” She offered, voice soothing.

“I can get it off… don’t cut it. I’m fine.” He assured, knowing the nightmare of paperwork that a new turnout coat required. The paramedic nodded, noting the pain she could hear in Casey’s voice, “Okay. I’m going to help you with the buckles, then we’ll shrug it off carefully. Is anything other than your ribs and hips hurting, though?”

Unable to form words, Casey just shook his head, closing his eyes as she worked on the buckles. He was grateful that she was able to undo them so quickly. Some paramedics were entirely unfamiliar with the buckles on a turnout coat, and Casey could vaguely remember an occasion where he’d been extremely concussed and had needed to unbuckle his own coat, eyes swimming and stomach twisting with nausea as he’d struggled with his own coordination.

“Okay – think the best way to do this is going to be one shoulder at a time. I’ll pull it back, just try to lift your left arm first. Okay?”

Tiredly, he nodded, extracting his arm from his turnout coat. He needed a couple of breaths as before he shifted his focus to his next movement, sliding that arm out too. He closed his eyes tightly after that, only dimly aware of voices exchanging as the paramedics moved around him.

“Sharp scratch, Captain Casey. As long as you’re alright with some painkillers?”

That was a male voice, and Casey opened his eyes, surprised to see that another paramedic had arrived next to him. The man was kneeling, soft brown eyes waiting for his response, “Uh, yeah… please… but, can we get in the ambo?”

The paramedics exchanged a glance, before nodding, “Of course, Captain. We’ll help you up…”

Casey nodded, letting out a pained breath as he shifted, trying to get back to his feet, “Thanks… but it’s Casey. Or Matt.”

The female paramedic nodded, taking his arm to assist, “Alright, Casey. I’m Davis, and this is my partner, Benton.”

This time, Matt wasn’t able to respond, too busy with gritting his teeth and fighting the pain. But Davis and Benton were professionals, assisting him to take the few steps towards the ambo, “That’s it, Matt… now, you’re gonna have to step up… Benton, jump in and assist him… okay, great. You’re doing well, Matt. Easy…”

Usually, he’d be embarrassed by the encouragement, but he was aware of how hard he was having to fight his body. Every move was causing him an shameful amount of pain, and he was grateful as Davis’ arm remained on his shoulder, “Just sit on the end of the gurney, Matt. Benton can close the doors, if that’s what you’re after.”

Now thoroughly exhausted, Casey nodded, keeping his teeth grit against the pain as he forced himself to breathe through his nose. In through the nose, and out through the mouth. The ambulance doors slammed shut, before Davis was warning him about the sharp scratch. The needle piercing his skin brought him back to reality, but only for moments before the pain was dulled, cool liquid flowing through his veins. He could practically feel himself melt with relief, and he allowed the set of hands on his shoulders to guide him back to the gurney, “Easy, Matt. Just relax… we’re gonna get some monitors on you, but that’s just standard protocol – as you well know.”

He grunted, afraid that nodding would undo the relief of the pain medication and closed his eyes. Sticky spots were attached to his chest, wires being placed against him. Davis worked in silence, not needing to talk to her partner to work efficiently.

“Alright, Casey… we’re almost ready to go. Your friend is out there – Severide, I think? – he seems to want to come. Are you comfortable with that?”

Forcing his eyes open, Casey noticed the top of Severide’s grey head. The man was respecting his privacy, while still looking out for him.

“Uh… yeah, if he wants too…” he muttered, aware that the drugs were slurring his speech. He wasn’t aware of the smiles the paramedics gave each other, though, before Benton was stepping back, opening the door and switching places with Severide.

Casey did his best to look alert when Kelly entered, the squad Lieutenant giving him a big smile as he ducked his head and stepped towards him. He’d had to hide his wince as he’d noticed the dark bruises blooming over Casey’s chest, knowing that drawing attention to them wouldn’t benefit Casey in any way.

“Hey, bud. Looks like you’ve already had the good stuff… glad I don’t have to convince you. And Boden’s cool with me staying with you, before you ask, wants me to make sure that you’re not too difficult…” he joked, hoping to take Casey’s attention away from the pain he was no doubt in.

Matt blinked tiredly as he processed Severide’s words, appreciating his efforts. He felt Kelly’s hand come to his knee, not realising that the ambulance had pulled out before he could come up with a response, “Yeah… I’m fine, Sevvy…”

Severide nodded, rolling his eyes and shaking his head, “Yeah, of course you are, bud… we’ve got you, though, until you are.”

* * *

Kelly was already sitting in the waiting room when the rest of fifty-one entered, having already done overhaul and cleaned up the scene. They all knew that it wasn’t serious – hence they hadn’t rushed to the hospital – but that also meant that Casey was at the bottom of the triage list. Last Severide had heard they had dosed him up on painkillers, were monitoring him, and were waiting for an x-ray to become available.

“Kelly, how is he?”

Severide stood up at Boden’s gruff voice, registering that everyone was standing behind him and deciding to cover up how bad the blonde was feeling, “Think he’s in a lot of pain… but he’s insisting he’s fine, of course. Halstead said he wasn’t worried, probably just a few weeks of keeping him down.”

They all chuckled at that, relieved that Casey was okay but knowing how hard it would be to keep Casey down. While they’d all turned up to a shift they perhaps shouldn’t have, Casey was almost in an obsessive habit of it. He’d show up at shift sick and injured, insisting that he had drills to run that couldn’t be missed. Boden would have to intervene and send him home, and had done so more times than they could count.

“Good, Kelly… and we’ll do our best to manage that. He’s got the whole house behind his back.”

Severide nodded, grateful for his Chief’s words, but was interrupted when the door opened, and Will Halstead stepped out. The young doctor flashed a bright smile to the firehouse – a sure sign that Casey was fine – and moved towards Boden and Severide. They were both down as Casey’s medical proxy, and – legally – he had to make sure that they were okay to share the blonde’s information, “Tell everyone, Will. You’ll have too, anyway.”

The doctor nodded at Boden’s words, before pivoting on one foot and turning back to the firehouse, “He’s absolutely fine – going to make a full recovery. He has a couple of fractured ribs, and one was displaced – which was likely causing most of the pain. We’ve popped it back in place, and he’s feeling a lot better. There is quite a lot of bruising, but none of it poses any risks. He will have some breathing exercises to do to prevent pneumonia, though – Kelly, I’m going to trust you with those ones. He also needs to take it easy.”

The last one was said with a note of cynicism, as though Will already knew how difficult that would be. And he was met with another round of chuckles, now that everyone was sure that Casey was going to be fine, “We’re going to keep him for a couple more hours to make sure there’s no unpleasant developments – but he’ll be utterly fine. He _is_ pretty out of it at the moment, probably ready for a nap, but he can have one visitor.”

They didn’t need words to decide that it would be Kelly, and Boden clapped him on the shoulder as he moved past, “Check on him, Kelly – if he needs someone with him, I can sort out the rest of shift.”

He thanked his Chief, knowing that he’d need to leave to get Casey settled at home anyway. It was one of the many good things about their house – fifty-one really did care about its people, family was always a priority.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive at Casey’s ER bay, wincing at the sight of the blonde in the bed. Casey’s shirt was off, blanket only half covering him, and the bruising looked extensive. But he was conscious, one hand wrapped around a peak flow meter. April was sitting by his side, encouraging him as Casey exhaled into it. She nodded encouragingly, rubbing his shoulder carefully as she gave him a wide grin, “That’s it… and another one.”

Silently, Severide stepped into the doorway, smiling as Casey gave it another go. He could see that he was in pain, and that he was tired, but April was calm and kind as she cheered him on again, “Alright, Casey… that’s it, well done. You can keep that and take it home, Casey, okay? You need to make sure that you’re getting into that green… that’s the goal.”

Sluggishly, Casey nodded, voice slurring as he thanked her. He didn’t seem to notice Severide standing in the doorway, instead dropping the peak flow meter as April pulled the blanket back up to his shoulders. She then turned back to Severide, still smiling kindly as she leant in, “He’s on the good stuff, Kelly… hasn’t faded yet. He’ll probably fall asleep soon anyway. He was asking about you, though… and the rest of the house. Wanted to make sure that everyone was okay.”

That was classic Casey, and it abated some of Severide’s worry. Matt’s behaviour was entirely in character, which was a sure sign he was feeling better than in the ambulance, “Thanks, April… and thanks for sticking around with him. I’m sure he appreciated it.”

April waved it off, shrugging it and patting him on the shoulder, “Just doing my job, Kelly, nothing special. If you need anything just hit the call button… I’ll keep my eye out.”

He thanked her again, before turning his attention to Casey. Matt still seemed to be unaware of his presence, but then again, he seemed entirely consumed with adjusting his blanket, drugged yet trying to be careful and coordinated, “Hey, easy, buddy… let me help you. Just want to pull it up, right?”

Casey was slow to give a response, seemingly unsurprised by Kelly’s presence as he slurred out a confirmation. Kelly was then careful as he pulled the blanket up, tucking it lightly around Casey’s neck and rubbing his shoulder gently, “How are you doing, bud? April said you’re on the good shit.”

“Mmm… uh, don’t know what I’m on, Sevvy… s’strong, though… and tired.”

Severide snorted gently, nodding at his friend, “Yeah, I’d say so, bud. You can sleep, they’re gonna keep you for a few more hours.”

Casey blinked, before starting to shake his head, “Nah, I’m fine, Sev. Can go home, I think…”

Kelly just shook his head, hand subconsciously running up and down Casey’s arm, “Not yet, Matt… they want to watch you a little longer, make sure you’re a-okay. And you need to keep breathing… deep ones. They need to make sure that you can use that.”

He gestured to the peak flow meter, and Casey squinted. Severide allowed himself a smile, realising that Casey had retained little if any information that the doctors had given him, “Though, I’m assuming that Halstead will give me more information when he discharges you into my care…”

The blonde frowned at that, waving a sluggish hand, “That’s alright, I… I can look after myself, thank you, though…”

Severide rolled his eyes, knowing that Casey was barely aware of what he was saying, “Nah, bud. You need help for a few days… and happy to do it. Besides, you live with me… or did you forget that? Maybe I should get Halstead in here to look for a concussion.” He teased, unable to stop himself from riling Casey up just a little bit, hoping that the blonde had the energy to respond.

He was relieved, then, when Casey frowned, pulling his blankets down as pushed Kelly’s hand away, “M’fine, Kel.”

“I know you are, bud… but for now, still get some rest. I’ll be back in a couple hours to get you home, okay? Then we can watch that motorbike documentary I’ve been wanting to see.”

Casey groaned, rolling his eyes, “Eugh… don’t want to watch it, Sev, not interested in it…”

Kelly shrugged, grin now covering his face, “Yeah, but I figure if I put it on then move the remote to the counter, you won’t be able to reach it… besides, you’ll probably fall asleep halfway through…”

Rolling his eyes again, Casey allowed his head to slump to the side. But he was validating Severide’s point at the same time, his eyes slipping shut even as he muttered, “Not gonna fall asleep…”

“Sure, bud… sure.”

**Author's Note:**

> I do have an idea for a second (short) chapter, if anyone's interested :)


End file.
